Laura (at CSBP), pictured here is one of KIC’s 15 female Year 11 high school students who are on our special (girls only) Cert. ll in Engineering courses. Do you think she might look like she is settling in ok to this traditionally male-dominated industrial environment? Word has it she is, and I reckon the blokes look really chuffed to be a part of it, don’t you?. She still attends school but goes to TAFE and to the industrial site for work experience once a week until the end of her Year 12 when she and her fellow trainees graduate at the end of next year.
This is a new program for KIC. We look to place 15 girls from our two annual iWOMEN (Year 10) programs (34 in each one) into the Cert ll program for their years 11 and 12. They get their work experience in industry, real industry, and are assisted through the process by an on-site mentor. The mentor’s job is to make sure the girls are placed into work environments that are safe, and that are reasonably aligned with the subject matter of their TAFE course. The students’ check-in and out via the mentor as well, just to make sure that any little issues don’t get the opportunity to develop into big ones. My bet is that all of the girls will be offered an apprenticeship when they graduate from their course next year. How so? Well, it’s because as they move between host companies, they’ll be recognised as a cultural fit. Well, that’s the plan.
We’re doing this to help in a tangible way to bring more women into the Kwinana Industrial Area workplaces.
